Oh, there are tons of jobs out there for people who are computer savvy and just can’t get enough of life out there in cyberspace. This article is about one of them.
The topic is consulting and, more specifically, SEO (search engine optimization) consulting. The powers that be are touting consulting jobs as the hot new ticket for today’s business-minded professional. The predictions and current trends show consulting jobs expanding to every niche imaginable, with the outlook being quite positive. If that’s the case, then the market for Internet-based consulting jobs is going to grow exponentially.
SEO Consulting could be your future- and it could be an exceptionally bright future. If your interest is piqued then you might consider this area of consulting in a little more depth…
The Test…Are you SEO Consultant Material?
Are you one of those people who just can’t stop surfing the Net no matter what you have lined up on your schedule to do? Do you spend countless hours online looking up interesting trivia and reading about the latest technology and tech terminology regarding the Internet?
Do you stay up late, night after night, reading your friends’ tweets, while posting your status on Facebook, or crowdsourcing the juice on the latest episode of your favorite show that you forgot to TiVo and don’t have time to watch on Hulu?
Do you annoyingly, and repeatedly, have to check your credit card bill against the multitude of under $5 charges for various app downloads to your iPhone or BlackBerry because you’ve lost track of them all?
Did you spend the better part of your college years listening to your professor’s podcast versions of the lecture, only showing up for the midterm and final because you didn’t have the time or patience to actually attend those crowded lecture halls in ‘meatspace’ (Real Life, or “RL”)?
And finally, are you one of those people who can succinctly and confidently explain the difference between cyberspace, the Internet and the World Wide Web (no, they are not really synonymous)?
If you’ve answered yes, or wished you could have answered yes, to even one of the above questions, then keep reading…
* Are you together, organized, and a self-starter?
* Do you have great verbal and written communication skills?
* Do you enjoy “running the show”, so to speak, but you’ve always been told you’re personable and not pushy?
* Have you always wanted to make a living doing something fun and forward thinking?
* Might you be the type of person who would like to own your own business?
If you’ve answered yes to at least one question from the first group and two or more from the second group then guess what? You just might make a great SEO Consultant!
SEO Consulting Defined
There is a lot to understand about Search Engine Optimization (SEO); you will have a wealth of information to learn on the topic if you choose to emerge into this niche. In its simplest form, however, the term refers to the process of designing and creating or editing web pages and web content so that it naturally ranks higher up on a given list of web results when it is searched for by an Internet user.
It is the act of attempting, through unpaid or “natural” techniques, to improve the web presence or visibility of the desired data, relative to other like-data, through the use of Search Engines. A basic example of this is writing content that has a higher combination of words or phrases on a certain subject. A search engine will typically detect and place higher in the search results, the page that has the most of the relevant word/s or phrases in it.
This is really a niche form of marketing; some marketing companies offer SEO services, but it is complex and in-demand enough to have evolved into its own stand-alone profession in recent years.
SEO can also stand for Search Engine Optimizers, which refers to the individuals or groups/companies whom perform SEO tasks for clients.
Getting Into SEO Consulting as a Profession
If you would like to try your hand at SEO Consulting, here are a few suggestions to use as starting points.
1. Learn all that you can about the concept and techniques of SEO. Read everything you can get your hands on, take some courses, and talk to others who are already managing SEO practices. You should also learn about Internet graphics, as these are also being used to increase online visibility.
2. Find some mentors and people who are already working in this niche. Develop business relationships and learn from them. Observe and practice. Get into partnerships (in an informal sense) and network with others who are working in related Internet jobs and offer to develop pro-bono SEO documents for practice. Non-profit companies and groups like schools, etc., are great places for this opportunity. They will really appreciate your help; you can gain valuable experience and references at the same time!
3. Experiment with your own website. Try to design one that will show up at the top of major search engine results pages like Yahoo, Google, etc.
4. Join clubs and organizations related to SEO. SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) is a great resource to start with.
5. Prepare a simple portfolio and samples to show potential new clients. You can start with family, friends and associates at first and proceed from there.
SEO Consulting just might be career you were always meant to have! If you really work at it, you have the potential to develop an extremely lucrative business, with growth potential limited only by the boundaries that you set for yourself!
Remember, this is a fairly recent and emerging niche market that is highly competitive and multi-faceted. The better informed you can become in the science and art of search engine optimization, the better your chances of success!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
How Much Should I Charge? Setting Your Consulting Fees
A prospective client asks you to do a project that is a bit outside of the norm, and now you’re struggling to figure out what you should charge them for the service. You don’t want to undercut yourself, however you also want to make sure that you remain competitive in your market, especially if clients are requesting quotes from several different consultants.
The honest truth is: there is no perfect method for setting your consulting fees. You need to create a fee structure that is going to work for both you and your clients.
Fees May Be Hard To Research
You can certainly try to research your competition, but most consultants do not practice the habit of making their fee structure public –online or on paper.
Why is this? Well, for the most part, fees are constantly changing and not all projects are the same. Rates go up and down all the time. Freelance consultants (just like any other service provider) reserve the right to charge whatever they want to whoever they want. They can charge one client one fee and another client something completely different and no one will ever know.
Therefore, you will find that researching fees in your market may become tedious-you’ll hit a bunch of dead ends. However, you can still try a few places:
1) You might get lucky and find some discussion forums that other consultants are posting to. In these forums, everything from handling clients to fee structures to how other people market their services or acquire new clients can be found.
2) You could try to network with other consultants in your industry to find out what range their fees run in. You may have to skirt the issue and get to know the other consultant prior to prying into their personal fee structures.
3) Try searching Google. Who knows? You might find some consultants that have absolutely no problem posting their fees.
4) Hop on some of the freelancing forums online. Millions of clients are posting projects and millions of freelancers are bidding. Pay attention to the projects and the average bids that are placed. Unfortunately, the clients have the ability to “hide” bids in order to eliminate the chances of people bid-comparing, however spending some time in these forums is a great way to gauge fees ranges.
What Other Consultants Do
Some consultants charge per the hour, others charge per project. Some ask for a retainer, others do not. Freelance writers may charge per word. Some may charge late fees, some may not. Everyone has their own method of assessing fees, and none of them are wrong as long as there is a profit.
It basically boils down to: How do you want to charge for your services? You need to find a method of charging that jives with you, your bills and the time that you invest into your work.
Take Everything Into Consideration: The Big Picture
There is a lot more to consider than just the items listed above. Beyond that time and energy that you devote to your work, you also have to think about the overhead that you pay to provide your services.
If you are a freelance writer, do you have to pay for the Internet? How about the electricity that you use in your office? If you go into the freelance forums and bid on projects, you need to take into count the time that you spend doing that and the fees that those forums assess to you.
Do you transfer money from the freelance forums to PayPal or your bank account? Does that cost a fee? What about the time it takes to do that?
Do you spend time emailing clients? All of the time and resources that you put into your work should be factored into the final figure.
So, basically, you want to figure out how many hours per week you work and how much you need (or want) to make each week in order to pay your bills. It would also be nice to make enough money to make you happy (and possibly passionate) about what you do for a living, but that’s a whole different article.
The Final Number
You already have the weekly amount that you would like to see in the bank account. Add in all of the expenses that you incur in order to make that figure hit the bank, and then divide that big-picture number by the number of hours you want to work each week.
For example, say that your big picture number each week is $1500, all expenses and pay included, and you’d like to stick to 35 hours per week. Divide that big picture number of $1500 by 35, and you have your hourly fee: $42.85.
Of course, nobody wants to charge $42.85 for an hourly rate. It’s simply too messy to keep track of. Round it up to $45-and most of your problems are solved.
Setting Fees for Projects
The next question is: What if I don’t have any idea how many hours it will take me to complete the project?
There is no reason why you can’t simply quote your hourly fee and work from there with the client. However, if a client absolutely demands a complete estimate for a project, it’s not a bad idea to sit down with them and figure out how much time the project should take and base the estimate on that amount of hours. Any “extra hours” put into the project can be negotiated, however, most projects can be estimated in terms of time –especially if you know what you are doing.
Setting fees for your consulting business is not a one-time thing. You will need to assess your hourly rate in comparison to your time investment and expenses (and how they all weigh against your competitor’s fees) on a consistent basis as your business begins to grow. You may notice that your expenses are increasing as you get more clients, resulting in the need to raise your fee; however your fees should always reflect a rate that makes both you and your clients comfortable.
The honest truth is: there is no perfect method for setting your consulting fees. You need to create a fee structure that is going to work for both you and your clients.
Fees May Be Hard To Research
You can certainly try to research your competition, but most consultants do not practice the habit of making their fee structure public –online or on paper.
Why is this? Well, for the most part, fees are constantly changing and not all projects are the same. Rates go up and down all the time. Freelance consultants (just like any other service provider) reserve the right to charge whatever they want to whoever they want. They can charge one client one fee and another client something completely different and no one will ever know.
Therefore, you will find that researching fees in your market may become tedious-you’ll hit a bunch of dead ends. However, you can still try a few places:
1) You might get lucky and find some discussion forums that other consultants are posting to. In these forums, everything from handling clients to fee structures to how other people market their services or acquire new clients can be found.
2) You could try to network with other consultants in your industry to find out what range their fees run in. You may have to skirt the issue and get to know the other consultant prior to prying into their personal fee structures.
3) Try searching Google. Who knows? You might find some consultants that have absolutely no problem posting their fees.
4) Hop on some of the freelancing forums online. Millions of clients are posting projects and millions of freelancers are bidding. Pay attention to the projects and the average bids that are placed. Unfortunately, the clients have the ability to “hide” bids in order to eliminate the chances of people bid-comparing, however spending some time in these forums is a great way to gauge fees ranges.
What Other Consultants Do
Some consultants charge per the hour, others charge per project. Some ask for a retainer, others do not. Freelance writers may charge per word. Some may charge late fees, some may not. Everyone has their own method of assessing fees, and none of them are wrong as long as there is a profit.
It basically boils down to: How do you want to charge for your services? You need to find a method of charging that jives with you, your bills and the time that you invest into your work.
Take Everything Into Consideration: The Big Picture
There is a lot more to consider than just the items listed above. Beyond that time and energy that you devote to your work, you also have to think about the overhead that you pay to provide your services.
If you are a freelance writer, do you have to pay for the Internet? How about the electricity that you use in your office? If you go into the freelance forums and bid on projects, you need to take into count the time that you spend doing that and the fees that those forums assess to you.
Do you transfer money from the freelance forums to PayPal or your bank account? Does that cost a fee? What about the time it takes to do that?
Do you spend time emailing clients? All of the time and resources that you put into your work should be factored into the final figure.
So, basically, you want to figure out how many hours per week you work and how much you need (or want) to make each week in order to pay your bills. It would also be nice to make enough money to make you happy (and possibly passionate) about what you do for a living, but that’s a whole different article.
The Final Number
You already have the weekly amount that you would like to see in the bank account. Add in all of the expenses that you incur in order to make that figure hit the bank, and then divide that big-picture number by the number of hours you want to work each week.
For example, say that your big picture number each week is $1500, all expenses and pay included, and you’d like to stick to 35 hours per week. Divide that big picture number of $1500 by 35, and you have your hourly fee: $42.85.
Of course, nobody wants to charge $42.85 for an hourly rate. It’s simply too messy to keep track of. Round it up to $45-and most of your problems are solved.
Setting Fees for Projects
The next question is: What if I don’t have any idea how many hours it will take me to complete the project?
There is no reason why you can’t simply quote your hourly fee and work from there with the client. However, if a client absolutely demands a complete estimate for a project, it’s not a bad idea to sit down with them and figure out how much time the project should take and base the estimate on that amount of hours. Any “extra hours” put into the project can be negotiated, however, most projects can be estimated in terms of time –especially if you know what you are doing.
Setting fees for your consulting business is not a one-time thing. You will need to assess your hourly rate in comparison to your time investment and expenses (and how they all weigh against your competitor’s fees) on a consistent basis as your business begins to grow. You may notice that your expenses are increasing as you get more clients, resulting in the need to raise your fee; however your fees should always reflect a rate that makes both you and your clients comfortable.
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